The present invention is directed to techniques for treating bone fractures. Specifically, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a system for treating a variety of typical femoral fractures using a uniform intramedullary rod design.
The femur generally comprises an elongated shaft extending from the hip to the knee. The proximal end of the femoral shaft includes a neck segment connected to a head portion. The head portion fits into a concavity of the hip bone to form a ball and socket joint at the hip. The distal end of the femoral shaft engages the upper end of the tibia to form the knee joint. Overall, the femur is one of the longest and strongest bones in the human body; however, portions of the femur are extremely susceptible to fracture.
Internal fixation of femoral fractures is one of the most common orthopedic surgical procedures. Many different types of femoral fractures are encountered in practice, including fractures of the femoral neck, midshaft, and distal regions. When the femur is fractured, treatment requires that the fractured bone be substantially immobilized and held together in an abutting relationship during the healing process. Any longitudinal, transverse, or rotational movement of one section of the fractured bone relative to the other can cause substantial delay in healing time or cause improper healing to occur. In general, two different internal fixation approaches have been used to immobilize the area surrounding the fracture site.
One approach involves driving metallic pins through the two sections of bone to be joined and connecting them to one or more plates bearing against the external surface of the bones. However, such an arrangement injures the flesh and muscle surrounding the bones and a large number of pins driven through the bone tend to weaken its hard outer layer. Plates also tend to stress the bone and are not always able to bear sufficient stress for many femoral fracture applications.
Further, bone beneath the plate does not always become as strong as it would in the absence of the plate. A second approach to treating femoral fractures involves the use of an intramedullary nail which is inserted into the medullary canal of the femur and affixed therein by a number of different methods. After complete healing of the bone at the fracture site, the nail may be removed through a hole drilled in the proximal end of the femur. A wide variety of devices have been developed over the years for use in the internal fixation of femoral fractures utilizing the method of intramedullar stabilization and immobilization. While there have been a number of technological advances made within the area of intramedullary fixation of femoral fractures, several problem areas remain.
One such problem arises from the fact that most intramedullary fixation systems currently available are adapted to a specific type of femoral fracture, resulting in a large number of highly specialized configurations. This has led to the disadvantageous consequence that hospitals and trauma centers have to keep a large inventory of incremental nail lengths with varying configurations and ancillary parts in order to accommodate a random and diverse incoming patient population. Maintaining such a high level of inventory to handle all expected contingencies is not only complex, but is also very expensive. Correspondingly, the possibility of error during selection and implantation of the fixation device by the surgeon is elevated. Likewise, the inventory costs associated with varying methods of intramedullary fixation are drastically increased and, in the case of smaller medical facilities, may necessitate switching to a less costly and potentially less effective method of treating femoral fractures.
Another problem may result from intramedullary rod systems used to specifically treat fractures of the neck or head of the femur. These devices typically include a transverse fixation member (nail, pin, screw, etc.) adapted to be positioned along the longitudinal axis of the femoral neck with its leading end portion embedded in the femoral head so as to grip the femoral head and thereby stabilize the fracture site. The fixation member is operably connected to the intramedullary rod to maintain a fixed relationship between the fixation member and the rod. Unfortunately, this structural connection does not always prevent rotational or translational movement of the fixation member relative to the intramedullary rod in response to forces commonly resulting from the normal activity of a convalescing patient. Additionally, the intramedullary rods used in these devices are typically specialized for use with this single fixation application and can not be used in other applications. Therefore, the costs associated with maintaining increased levels of inventory are substantially increased. Furthermore, if it is desired to vary the angle of the fixation member relative to the rod, substantial modifications must typically be made to either the fixation member or the rod member to accommodate for such an angular variation, again driving up inventory levels and associated inventory costs.
In still another problem area, on occasion, it is necessary to use transverse locking bone screws to lock the rod into position relative to the femur. In order to prevent the screws from backing out, locking nuts can be threaded onto the distal ends of the locking screws. Unfortunately, the installation of locking nuts onto the ends of the locking screws requires additional surgical incisions and commonly causes soft tissue irritation.
In yet another problem area, when an intramedullary rod is inserted into the medullary canal and anchored to the femur by two or more bone screws, despite the best efforts of the surgeon, the fracture site may have either been over-compressed or over-distracted as a result of the insertion of the rod. Unfortunately, with conventional intramedullary rods, it is virtually impossible to adjust the amount of distraction or compression without first removing one or more of the bone screws and manually distracting or compressing the fracture site. The intramedullary rod must then be re-anchored to the femur by reinserting the bone screws at different positions along the femur.
Thus, there is a demand for bone treatment techniques to address these problems. The present invention meets this demand and provides other benefits and advantages in a novel and unobvious manner.
The present invention is directed to techniques for treating bone fractures. Various aspects of the invention are novel, nonobvious and provide various advantages. While the actual nature of the invention covered herein can only be determined with reference to the claims appended hereto, selected forms and features of the preferred embodiment as disclosed herein, are described briefly as follows.
One form of the present invention includes treating a bone fracture with a nail that defines an opening and a transverse member including a bone engaging portion and a connection portion. The connection portion defines a through-hole and the nail is sized to pass through the through-hole. A pin is adjustably coupled to the transverse member to rigidly assemble the transverse member to the nail.
In a further form of the present invention, a method of treating a bone fracture includes forming a first hole in a femur transverse to the medullary canal and introducing a transverse member through the first hole. The transverse member includes a through-hole that is positioned relative to the medullary canal of the femur, and is preferably aligned therewith. The method further includes forming a second hole intersecting the medullary canal and inserting an intramedullary nail into the medullary canal via the second hole. The nail passes through the through-hole of the transverse member. The nail may include an opening aligned with the transverse member to facilitate rigid assembly to the transverse member by positioning a pin coupled to the transverse member in the nail opening.
In still another form of the present invention, a system for treating bone fractures includes a nail having a first end portion opposite a second end portion along a longitudinal axis. The first end portion defines an opening extending through the nail and has an angled surface oriented at an oblique angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the nail. Also included is a sleeve that includes a pair of apertures positioned on opposite sides of the sleeve. The apertures and the opening align to form a passageway when the sleeve is fitted over an end portion. A bone engaging member is received within the passageway in an abutting relationship with the angled surface.
In yet another form of the present invention, a bone fracture treatment apparatus includes an elongated nail having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The nail defines a transverse opening extending along the transverse axis with the opening being bound by an upper surface and an opposite lower surface. At least one of the upper or lower surface defines a projection extending in a longitudinal direction to thereby narrow a dimension of the opening within the nail. The nail opening, and projection may be arranged to cooperate with one or more other members suitable to treat a particular type of bone fracture, such as a fracture of the femur.
According to another form of the present invention, a system for treating bone fractures includes a nail defining a longitudinal axis, a transverse axis and an opening extending along the transverse axis with the opening being bound by a bearing surface. Also included is a sleeve having a pair of apertures positioned on opposite sides thereof. The apertures and the opening are aligned to form a passageway when the sleeve is fitted over the nail. A bone engaging member is sized to pass through the passageway. Additionally, the system may include a means for biasing the sleeve in a longitudinal direction to clamp the bone engaging member against the bearing surface.
Still a further form of the present invention includes a technique for treating bone fractures with a nail that defines a longitudinal axis, an elongated opening extending therethrough, and a longitudinal passage intersecting the opening. A bone engaging member passes through the opening and a positioning device is provided that may be adjusted to change position of the bone engaging member along the longitudinal axis relative to the nail when the member is positioned through the nail opening. This device may be utilized to facilitate compression or distraction of a bone fracture.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved bone fracture treatment system. Preferably, this system may be used to treat fractures of the femur.
Additionally or alternatively, another object is to provide an improved method of treating bone fractures, particularly fractures of elongated bones such as the femur.
Additionally or alternatively, still another object is to reduce the complexity and inventory costs associated with treating bone fractures.
Other objects, features, forms, embodiments, aspects, advantages and benefits of the present invention will become apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art from the following written description and accompanying figures.